


Back to Back

by Crowned_Ladybug



Series: Everyone Deserves a Second Chance (Marvelsepticeye AU) [5]
Category: Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Best Friends, Gen, Magic, Marvin is fiercely protective of Jackie, Non-Graphic Violence, Pre-Slash, Superheroes, They're a team, just something to prove that this isn't just Jackie taking care of Marvin
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-29 01:31:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,895
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12620092
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crowned_Ladybug/pseuds/Crowned_Ladybug
Summary: Marvin runs. He’s not being chased, but he still runs because something is calling him, he needs to be somewhere and he needs to be there right now. He can barely see where he’s going, the night sky above him pitch black with no moon to guide his way. Still his feet carry him almost as if knowing the way better than his head, turning corners he doesn’t even see coming and never once tripping. He runs.There’s noise and he doesn’t know what it is, it’s a thousand noises joining into one and it’s getting stronger. Then above it all he hears a single thing, a pained cry of an all too familiar voice.Jackie.





	Back to Back

Marvin runs. He's not being chased, but he still runs because something is calling him, he needs to be _somewhere_ and he needs to be there _right_ _now_. He can barely see where he's going, the night sky above him pitch black with no moon to guide his way. Still his feet carry him almost as if knowing the way better than his head, turning corners he doesn't even see coming and never once tripping. He runs.

His eyesight is pretty much useless at this point and his sense of direction is completely gone. But he's getting closer, he knows it, as the pull in his chest that guides his step grows almost painful. His nose fills with smells he wants to banish as soon as he feels them – there's blood, poison, gasoline and smoke and who knows what else, mixing into a stench that screams _danger_. His instincts are telling him to run and hide, to save himself form whatever disaster he's headed for, but the tug in his chest is stronger. There's noise and he doesn't know what it is, it's a thousand noises joining into one and it's getting stronger. Then above it all he hears a single thing, a pained cry of an all too familiar voice.

_Jackie_.

  


Marvin wakes up panting, kicking off the sheets that feel like heavy ropes around his body. He gasps for air, but the stench that had been surrounding him just before is gone, all there is left is the laundry detergent from his clothes and the faintest smell of flowers.

He holds onto the back of the couch he's sitting up on with a shaky hand and looks around the room. He's in Jackie's living room and it's the middle of the night. The Moon outside the window casts shapes onto the carpet, just brushing the bag on the floor that's overflowing with Marvin's belongings. He's yet to officially move in, but he spends most of his time here now, and so he has most of his stuff here for easy access. That's it, nothing more.

He listens and hears nothing, nothing aside from the usual noises of the apartment – the ticking of a clock, the fridge occasionally whirring, the distant noise of traffic on the streets. Everything is peaceful.

Except it isn't. Because if you're a magician, especially as powerful as Marvin, nightmares of your best friend calling out for help don't just happen on their own. They always have a reason, and that reason is the most obvious – Jackie needs his help.

He checks Jackie's room and finds his superhero suit missing. That's enough for Marvin to start getting dressed, cursing every moment he wastes fumbling with the buttons on his shirt. It feels like an eternity before he leaves, already running down the corridor as he pulls his cape around his shoulders, but in reality it's only a couple minutes.

He rushes to the roof and looks around, hoping for an obvious sign of where Jackie might be. He sees nothing, but...if he just concentrates hard enough he can feel that tug in his chest again. Fainter than in his dream but still very much there, pointing in a definite direction. It fills him with a sense of dread, like he's the one in need of help. He jumps to follow it without a second thought and he thanks his magic for just this once acting subconsciously.

Just like during his patrols with Jackie he runs from rooftop to rooftop, knowing the maze of the city's highest level like the back of his hand. He runs as fast as his feet can carry him, but he's scared it's not enough. His strength has been returning recently, stamina building up again since Jackie has been taking care of him and making sure he eats well, but even with that he can't possibly run across the whole city and make it in time to rescue Jackie from whatever danger he's in.

So the next time he jumps, he doesn't do it to make it to the next building. In the blink of an eye his cape is gone, replaced by a pair of wings that carry him higher and faster than his feet ever could. He flies with black leather membranes catching the wind like sails, and he swerves between buildings as if this is the very thing he's been born to do. It would be incredibly fun were he not rushing to his friend's aid.

His instincts lead him the same way they keep his wings from dropping him, and he makes it. He makes it.

It's near the edge of the city and the only building nearby has long been abandoned. And there's Jackie, completely surrounded but still standing his ground, because of course he is. He'd be willing to take on the world if he believed he was doing good by it, even if it would crush him in a second. This time it's not the whole world, maybe just fifteen guys, but that's still fourteen more than Jackie.

Looking back, Marvin will be sure and proud that he probably scared the living Hell out of at least half of them. He drops from ten feet above them, wings blocking out the sky for a moment but folding back into his cape before any of them could really tell them apart from the shadows.

"Get back!" Marvin roars, genuine anger fuelling his voice because how _dare_ these people try to hurt his Jackie. Fire sprouts from the ground and forms a circle around the two of them, the bright orange flames growing five feet tall within a second and startling the attackers back. It gives Marvin and Jackie a moment to breathe and prepare.

Marvin knows without looking that Jackie is behind him, back against his back, just as ready to take on these guys as he is. He feels a hand slip into his own for a moment, fingers intertwining tightly with his before they slip free again. _I'm here_ , is what the gesture says. _We're doing this together._

As soon as Jackie's hand leaves his own, Marvin extinguishes the flames in a single moment. It surprises their enemies and gives them a headstart.

The guy closest to Marvin probably expects a lot of different magical attacks, so he must be very surprised when instead he gets a fist to the face. The next guy trips over his own feet in fear, and Marvin twists out of another's way just in time to scare the guy who was about to attack Jackie from behind by a well-aimed fireball. When someone yanks Marvin back by the cape they are flung across half the field by Jackie the next second and Marvin even finds the time to laugh at it.

It's incredible how a dozen bad guys lose all order just from two others who know what they're doing. Not like Jackie and Marvin are complaining. They dance around each other with ease, knowing the other's next move as easily as their own and never leaving each other's backs open. When someone tries to rush Marvin they're tripped by Jackie almost too easily, and when another guy tries to grab Jackie by the arm he's tackled onto the ground by a furious magician. By the time the police arrives, they're all very confused and taken care of, arranged into a neat pile on the ground by Marvin's bad sense of humour.

They both withdraw into the shadows when the officers arrive, because from then on it's not their business. They don't want it to be.

The moment it's just them, Jackie tugs Marvin into a hug. It's tight, almost suffocating and kind of desperate. Jackie grabs fistfuls of Marvin's cape and buries his face into his neck, wanting to talk but not finding the words. Marvin just smiles. He pulls his mask off with one hand and presses his cheek against the side of Jackie's head. His blood is still rushing with adrenaline, but he's done fighting for tonight. Holding Jackie is much nicer anyway.

"Thank you," Jackie breathes, and he tries to pull Marvin closer as if that's even humanly possible.

Marvin hums and there's a bit of laughter behind it, and he threads his free hand through Jackie's hair. "No need to thank me," he runs his fingers through Jackie's hair again and he can feel him starting to tremble slightly as his adrenaline rush passes. "I've got your back, remember?"

Jackie laughs a little and Marvin decides to take it as an answer. Jackie hates fighting. He might know how to, he might even be good at it, but on the bottom line he still hates it. Being held by Marvin is by far the best cure he knows for feeling upset after a fight.

"Come on, let's go home," Marvin whispers and waits for Jackie's arms to loosen around him before he untangles himself from him. Their business here is done, they don't need to stay any longer. "Come on," he repeats and gently takes Jackie's hand into his own.

In a second they're home. Jackie doesn't like teleporting, it feels like his breath is sucked from his lungs and he's floating in nothingness for a moment, and despite everything Marvin says he just can't get used to it. But right now he has no objections. The sooner they're home in peace the better, and there isn't really sooner than instantaneous.

They're standing in the living room, everything the same as when Marvin had left it except for the moonlight having moved with time passing. Jackie takes a breath, then he grins and hugs Marvin again, picking him up, and he spins the two of them around. Marvin squeaks in surprise, then it turns into a laugh as he wraps his arms around Jackie's neck to secure himself.

"You saved me!" Jackie laughs, because right now everything is worth a laugh. He puts Marvin down but doesn't let him go. Not like Marvin wants him to anyway. "Just like a real hero! _My_ hero!"

Marvin laughs at him but pulls him closer and presses their foreheads together. They laugh together, then it quiets until they're just grinning, but they start laughing again when Jackie bumps their noses together. They have no reason to be laughing this much, not really, aside from the fact that they're okay, they're alive and safe and they have each other. After such a big fright (because fighting well doesn't mean it's any less scary) the best, most natural thing they can do is laugh.

"How did you find me?" Jackie asks quietly once they have both calmed down and settled on the couch. They're both still dressed in their respective costumes and they know they aren't going to sleep anytime soon anyway, but their masks are sitting on the table and Marvin's cape is draped across the back of the couch. They're just the two of them now, Marvin and Jackie, two guys in a nice apartment, staying up late with their sides hurting from laughing.

"A magician never reveals his secrets," Marvin grins cheekily, and Jackie has to give it to him that that was a very good response.

Jackie tilts his head to the side and gives him a sweet smile. "Not even when asked nicely?"

"Okay...maybe then."

**Author's Note:**

> I just...really needed something to show that their relationship is far from one-sided.
> 
> Also, I'm not one to just randomly hang wings on people, but I thought it both made sense and would be a nice nod to a single half-sentence from the fic that started this.


End file.
